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Everything about the General Agricultural Competition
The General Agricultural Competition was first held in 1870 to select and recognise France's best regional products and breeding animals.
It is an age-old event with an eminently cutting-edge mission: to showcase the exceptional biodiversity in French breeding and gastronomy.
Let's discover the various categories of this year’s General Agricultural Competition
It serves as a unique launching pad for local products, dairy products and wines, and a showcase for the excellent qualities of French breeding. Candidates participating in the General Agricultural Competition benefit by acquiring more legitimacy within their profession and in the eyes of the general public.
It also raises awareness and singles out up-and-coming young professionals who are committed to agriculture.
Competitions include prizes for the best wine tasters and best livestock judges for students from agricultural schools.
The General Agricultural Competition for Products and Wines
The products competition covers more than 23 categories divided into two main families: dairy products and local products.
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A standard-setting event and guarantee quality !
The products are submitted to a panel made up of professionals from the sector, producers, members of the food and wine trades, merchants, distributors and knowledgeable consumers.
Prizes are awarded on the basis of sensory characteristics and taste. Included in the local products category are slaughtered poultry, poultry pieces, foie gras, dairy products, olive oil products, nut oils, honey products, Espelette chili peppers, vanilla, brandies, fortified wines, pommeau and apple brandy, oysters, smoked trout, fruit juices, apple and pear ciders, beers, rums and punches, aperitifs, cured meats, sausages jams and saffron.
Two new categories make their appearance for the first time this year: beef and French whiskey.
The Wine Competition
All French wines in every price range are represented at the General Agricultural Competition. Samples are submitted for assessment by an expert panel (sommeliers, oenologists, wholesalers, producers, brokers, etc.) and knowledgeable consumers who are recognised for their sound and dependable verdicts.
And the medals awarded to the wines during the GAC are seen as a much sought-after passport to the export market. Each year 16,000 samples are entered into the competition, starting with heats organised locally by France's regions, chambers of agriculture and farmers’ unions, and culminating in the final, which takes place within the framework of the Paris International Agricultural Show.
Just 55% of the wines entered go through to the final, where tasting is overseen by representatives from the Ministry for Agriculture, Agrifoods and Forestry.
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The General Agricultural Animal Competition for young professionals
The General Agricultural Competition was also set up to promote teaching about farming
With this in mind, it organises two specific events:
- The Young People's Animal Judging Competition (CJAJ)
- The European Competition for Young Professionals in the Wine Sector (CJPV).
These are both European competitions. The CJPV is open to students studying farming, hotelery and business, as well as young professionals – people who have recently set up as farmers or wine producers.
The young people's animal judging competition
In this competition, young students from agricultural schools or recently established young farmers are judged on their aptitude for scoring the qualities of cattle, sheep, goats, draught horses and riding horses.
Candidates judge animals using a set of criteria:
- Body characteristics,
- Corpulence,
- Musculature,
- Specific body parts,
- Stand,
- Gait,
- Animal's general appearance.
The purpose of this competition
Raise young people’s awareness of the importance of the physical characteristics of breeding animals,
Encourage professional training in this area by breeding organisations, agricultural schools, technical institutes and regional breeding establishments.
Following these regional heats and the national finals (which are held in Paris during the Agricultural Show), awards are presented.
Aims
- Showcase dairy or suckling cow rearing at the teaching farms of agricultural schools,
- Highlight the work done by secondary schools in training pupils in the field of animal genetics,
- Strengthen the partnership between teaching and professionals,
- Help create a modern image of cattle rearing.
This competition is jointly organised by the magazine L’Eleveur Laitier, La France Agricole and the Paris International Agricultural Show.
The European Competition for Young Professionals in the Wine Sector
This competition showcases the wine-tasting skills of future young professionals in the wine sector.
Aims:
- Raise young people’s awareness of the importance of tasting in their line of work,
- Encourage professional training in this area.
After the regional heats and the national finals (which are held during the Paris International Agricultural Show), the awards are presented.
For further information, visit the General Agricultural Competition's website
The General Competition for Animals
Since the Animal Competition was first held back in 1864, livestock farmers have presented the very best of French livestock production in terms of breeding.
The animals selected by the breeding organisations go through the most rigorous selection processes. They showcase the exceptional biodiversity of breeding in France.
All the breeders taking part in the General Agricultural Competition are from collective schemes authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifoods and Forestry and are subject to its control, thereby ensuring optimal genetic values. With its high genetic quality and business performance guarantees, the livestock accepted for the competition is judged on its morphology and how well it corresponds to the traditional characteristics of the breed. The functional traits of its morphology are of special importance.
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Eight animal species are represented at the Concours Général Agricole.
Donkeys, Cattle, Canines, Goats, Horses, Sheep, Pigs and Cats. We find on this national competition which also fascinates the general public:
- 382 breeds,
- 2,540 animals represented
- 1,480 breeders*
The eagerly-awaited animal competition is a key attraction at the Paris International Agricultural Show. The finest specimens are paraded in the arenas before a highly critical general public every year.
*Data from the 2023 edition
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Download the ring schedules
Plan your day at #SIA2024.
Below you'll find the schedules for the animal rings of the Concours Général Agricole, for the next edition of the Salon International de l'Agriculture* :
- Grand Ring schedule
- Presentation ring schedule
- Ovine-Caprine ring program
- Pig ring program
- Dog-Cat ring program
- Equine Career Program
*Listings as of 02/16/2024 subject to change"
Live from the rings
Follow the rings live!
Over the last 4 editions, many of you have followed us during live broadcasts from the rings, and we'd like to thank you!
Watch replays of all the animal competitions, the Concours de Jugement des Animaux par les Jeunes (CJAJ) and the Trophée International de l'Enseignement Agricole (TIEA) of the Concours Général Agricole 2023: Voir les replays.
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